Joe Montana Shades Patriots Over Tom Brady's Exit, 'Somebody Made A Mistake'

Joe Montana thinks it's a damn shame Tom Brady won't finish his career in New England ... and he's laying the blame for the GOAT's exit at the feet of the Patriots.

"I don’t know what’s going on inside there," Montana said Wednesday, "but somebody made a mistake."

Joe Cool told USA TODAY Sports there's just no way in hell that breakup needed to happen ... saying the Patriots really should have done more to keep their quarterback in the mix.

Of course, Montana doesn't necessarily think Brady's without fault for the dissolution of the relationship ... Joe said when he talked to Tom at the Super Bowl last month, he got the feeling that TB12 wanted to yield more power than Bill Belichick likely wanted to give up.

"He wants control," Joe said. "I mean, he wants a lot of control. I don’t know what Tampa Bay gave him, but at some point in time, you’re just a player."

"You can try to get what you can and do what you want, but in the end, you’re still not in the hierarchy when it comes to hiring people, firing people and all that."

Still, Montana thinks the Patriots should have worked it out ... saying his situation at the end of his 49ers career was not the same as Brady's current one.

“I had a different story, where they had made a decision," Montana said. "He, obviously, they never would have gotten rid of. I still don’t understand how New England let him get away. I don’t understand that.”

Joe believes Tom is going to have a lot more fun in Tampa regardless ... but he's warning Bruce Arians to implement some Patriots philosophies into his offense, or else it could be trouble for Tom.

"He’ll be a good addition to that team, as long as they don’t hold the ball like they’ve been doing," Joe says. "I don’t think he fits into that category to hold the ball."